Fidelity National Information Services has agreed to sell a majority stake in its Worldpay Merchant Solutions segment to private-equity firm GTCR for nearly $12 billion, retreating from a big acquisition it made four years ago that quickly soured.
Fidelity National, better known as FIS, said Thursday that the deal values the entire payment-processing business at a so-called enterprise value of around $18.5 billion—less than half the $43 billion valuation it acquired Worldpay for in 2019.
FIS said it would retain a non-controlling 45% stake in a stand-alone joint venture and receive upfront proceeds of $11.7 billion, which will be used to pay down debt and return additional capital to shareholders via buybacks.
Read the full story on The Wall Street Journal here.